Kingston officers assist with Boston bombing manhunt

“Hoorah!” he texted.

The text Police Chief Maurice Splaine sent to members of the Kingston Police Department taking part in the successful manhunt for the surviving Boston Marathon bombing suspect pretty much summed it up.

The text Police Chief Maurice Splaine sent to members of the Kingston Police Department taking part in the successful manhunt for the surviving Boston Marathon bombing suspect pretty much summed it up.

Splaine was notified the day after the bombings that his officers were needed to join up with other members of the Southeastern Massachusetts Law Enforcement Council, a regional consortium of police departments, to be part of the search for suspects.

SWAT team members Sgt. Timothy Ballinger and Officer Erik Dowd and Search and Rescue team members Officer John Bateman and K-9 Officer Michael LaNatra were in Boston all week.

Friday night, SWAT team members were in Watertown, protecting the safety of its residents. They were there when the armored police vehicle with the mechanical arm operated by an officer approached the boat in the backyard where the surviving suspect had hidden.

LaNatra volunteered to work security Wednesday as law enforcement paid tribute to fallen MIT officer Sean Collier. Many other officers were expected to go on their own to pay their respects.

“That’s what we do,” Splaine said, referring to the camaraderie within law enforcement that leaves them wanting to support one another.

At the beginning of this week, Ballinger, a SELEC team leader, was participating in more training. The week before the bombings, team members were in training. The special unit trains twice a month.

There is a financial cost to being part of the consortium, but to Splaine it’s worth it. If there’s a police emergency in Kingston that requires regional resources, the Southeastern Massachusetts Law Enforcement Council will answer the call.

“Belonging to SELEC is like an insurance policy,” he said.

Monday afternoon, after learning of the bombings, Splaine was initially worried about marathon volunteers who were also members of the police department working a private security detail. Not knowing what, if anything, had happened to them had worried the chief.

He didn’t start hearing from dispatchers Michelle Beck and Vicky Goldberg, and Sgt. Susan Munford, who headed up the team, until around 6 p.m.

Splaine said he’s proud of them all. Trained to respond to any emergency, they were ready for anything.